Planning commission approves annex zoning for 75 Sage Road after resident raises traffic and use concerns

The Winter Haven Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of a future land use designation and Commercial Highway (C-3) zoning for an annexed 8.64-acre parcel at 75 Sage Road.

Heather Reuter, senior planner for the City of Winter Haven, told commissioners the petitioner, PTP Real Estate Enterprises LLC, requested the city assign a Neighborhood Support future land use and the C-3 zoning district to the annexed parcel. The property, annexed Nov. 25, 2024, was previously designated Business Park Center 2 in Polk County and the petitioner has indicated an intent to develop a medical office, Reuter said.

The change would allow uses permitted in the city's C-3 zoning table. "But once C-3 is assigned, they could do anything that's located in that zoning district," Reuter said. She added the requested future land use and zoning are consistent with the property's location along an arterial corridor and with surrounding city designations, and that staff found sufficient public infrastructure capacity to support theoretical C-3 development. Reuter said final concurrency and specific infrastructure determinations would be made at the site-plan stage.

During public comment, resident Byron Cobb asked why presentation materials did not show the property entrance from his house and voiced concerns about the location of access and potential nonmedical businesses. "They only said medical center. Is the total thing gonna be a medical center, or they're gonna have nail shop or smoke shops or what else in there?" Cobb said. He asked who would approve the project's access points; staff replied that Dundee Road is a state road and Sage Road is a county road, and that access permits would be handled by those agencies during site-plan review.

Applicant representative Kendall Phillips spoke briefly and offered that the project engineer would answer questions when available. Staff noted that once a site plan is submitted it will be a public record and staff can provide contact information and updates.

After closing the public portion, the commission moved to recommend approval of Case Nos. PD-25-11 and PD-25-12, forwarding the items to the Winter Haven City Commission for final action. The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.

The commission's recommendation does not vest any specific use or access points; those details are subject to future site-plan review and applicable state or county permits.